September 2017 Surgery Group

dogmomerica, sorry you're here, but welcome to the forums. You've come to a good place to find ways to be prepared. Good luck going forward.

Hi Everyone- I had my lumpectomy on 9/11 where my MO did the dye for locating the sentinel node. I did have a MRI before surgery and the tumor ended up being smaller then shown in the MRI. I met with my MO to go over the pathology report and he told me they took out 2 nodes and both were positive. My question is does that mean there could be more positive nodes? The MO said that they don't do an axillery node dissection because it is the same prognosis if you do chemo and radiation. It just concerns me that this is worse then what I expected. Just wondering if anyone is or has been in same situation. Thank you!

Mamafelice,  

wish you speedy recovery.  and be ready for the chemo and the entire battle.    I am done w all three, BMX wo recon, 8DD chemos and 30 rads,   it was brutal but I feel victorious after all done. 

drains,, I hated bc they cramped my style. They made me feel like I had a third leg.   drainage amount increase could be that you are moving a little bit more than the day before. That was  what my BS nurse told me. And it worked.   Maybe moving little less could make a difference toward less amount.   if anything looks odd at the time of drainage removal, you will be told what to do. I had BMX w multiple nodes removal and BS removed them in 3 wks. 

Be gentle with yourself. 

Hey everyone... I had a left UMX with a DIEP flap on 9/18. It really wasn't that bad. Hoping everyone is doing well

dazzlingeagle- glad to hear from you.

I am so sorry the PS could not perform the venous bypass and sorry you are having shoulder pain.

Glad to hear your surgeon believes he got all the cancer.

Take it easy, rest, and work on that drain.

Sending you a hug and hoping the pain is very temporary.

DazlingEagle. You are strong. You and brave. You can do this. Be gentle with yourself. 💜Sara

MamaFelice, I wish there was something magic I could tell you about drain output but unfortunately there isn't. I personally never found any correlation between movement/activity and drain output. I had my drains after my initial BMX last year for seven weeks. Yes, you read that correctly - 7. I had the damn things so long that I named them Flotsam and Jetsam. And when I had my right TE reinserted post-infection in March this year I had a drain for four weeks and then they only pulled it because I lied about the output. HUGE mistake. DO NOT DO THIS, no matter how sorely tempted. The fluid kept accumulating, which is already an infection risk as it sits there, so they kept having to needle aspirate me every 3-4 days which is just another avenue for possible infection. Believe me, anyone who has followed me on prior surgery boards knows that I am a BIG WHINY BABY when it comes to the drains but just suck it up as best you can and don't have them removed until they say it's OK. I learned that lesson the very hard way. Now, I have heard that there are some plastic surgeons who will remove the drains after x number of weeks regardless of output by my PS isn't one of them.

DazzlingEagle, I'm so sorry about the outcome of your surgery! Your surgeon is a complete ass. I can't even tell you how pissed off it makes me when they tell me how I "should" feel. EFF YOU and the horse you road in on, buddy. How about we cut off your balls and then tell you how "happy" you should be! I'm sending you gentle hugs.

Nurseinboots, glad you're surgery went well. Good luck on the recovery road!

As for me, I'm extremely unhappy with the results of my exchange surgery. I still look like I have two foobs from two completely different women - not at all symmetrical. My only goal for this final exchange was to look good in clothes and I didn't even get that. I'm so disappointed. BUT.........I'm not giving up. If my radiated right side would just "drop" a little it would be a huge improvement and I have a plan for maybe making that happen. I see PS for post op appointment tomorrow so I'll post another update after that.

Patsfan12, so sorry you're here with us but I'm glad you found the thread.

I had my original BMX in April, 2016 and, for me, the pain was completely manageable. I only took Norco for the first couple of days after surgery then switched to Tylenol. The only real pain I had was at the incision sites as well as with the drains which were mostly uncomfortable and not really painful. The limitations on range of motion were more cumbersome than the pain.

As for the dye injection, I personally didn't think it was that bad though I have read other posts that said it was very painful. They gave me ice and some pain cream and it was just a pinch of discomfort for me.

I wish you the best of luck with your procedure. Be sure to post afterwards to let us know how things go.

greetings! I had a DMX with reconstruction a little more than 2 weeks ago; recovery is going fairly well,except for a horrible feeling of binding or restriction in my chest-which I assume is the tissue expanders. Does this feeling get better, or is this the new norm? Is this normal? It's so annoying-it feels like I have the most hideously uncomfortable bra on!! Thx

Lizo_biker, sorry about all the discomfort. My implants are over the chest wall muscle so I've never experienced that restricting feeling. I believe it's pretty common though with implants done under the muscle and from what I've read the final implants are more comfortable. Hopefully someone else will be able to chime in with more information.

Good luck to ElleElleBee and Pauline23 who are scheduled for surgery tomorrow!

Hello everyone. Doing much better pain-wise. Mamafelice: The drain is mostly uncomfortable instead of painful. Yes, the spot where the drain is inserted hurts/aches. I think that's normal. Do you have any small pieces of flesh coming through the drain? I do and it's pretty gross.

The pain in the back of my upper arm and shoulder is still there but it's getting better. I don't know how it can be numb and painful at the same time, but it is. I am still taking one oxy before bed just so I don't wake up in pain. Have no appetite. Joyseeker: I'm still trying to deal with the emotions too. Are you seeing any therapist or taking any meds for emotions?

I had the blue dye for my surgery and I must have already been under anesthesia when it was injected because I don't remember it at all. I am still peeing a little blue so it stays in your body a few days.

Patsfan:

Okay, it depends upon how your facility does the procedure...but I had nuclear injections two days or so before surgery to locate the sentinel nodes. Instead of (I think) blue dye just before surgery. Recommended on this site was to have the doctor prescribe Emla cream (numbing cream), slather over breast, then cover with Saran Wrap. I kid you not. I went to the appt with that under my clothing (no mess, no fuss, it sticks). The nurse told me they could always do Emla but you have to go early and ask before the appt. That, again, depends upon the facility.

I felt nothing. Easy, peasy.

Search nuclear and blue dye injections on this site. Tons of advice and feedback.

Hi dodgers girl.

Every doctor has told me I'm having radiation but I have never told any doctor I have agreed to having radiation.

I want to have it but I don't understand if I need to do it right away or can I have plastic surgery first? I am at a very high risk for lymphedema and the radiation will increase that risk. I have an appointment in two weeks with the radiologist doctor and I'll see what he says. The plastic surgeon put in one of his visit summaries that he won't do plastic surgery unless I defer radiation for several weeks. I don't really understand the timeline of what happens when. The oncologist suspended my Herceptin/perjeta and is switching me to a new oral medication neratinib instead. The meds have a significant side effect of grade 3 diarrhea so I wanted to see if I can tolerate the meds. I don't know where plastic surgery fits into all this.

I thought everything would start resolving after the chemo and surgery and now it seems like I have so much treatment left.

How are your nails doing? Mine are almost normal with hardly any pain. I still baby them.

Hi ladies

I am new here and will be having a mastectomy left breast on 9/28. I really just want to get it over with. I am hoping that like some of you I heal really quick and I don't have much pain. I am being pressured to tell my friends but I don't want to and now i'm feeling guilty because their feelings may be hurt by not telling them... I am really concerned about mobility afterwards...I am even feeling like i am not up to having visitors. Have any of you felt this way? My thoughts are all over the place but surprisingly I am not feeling scared.

I just can't seem to discuss this with persons who have not had to deal with this situation.

Thanks so much for posting your journey it has helped me immensely.

Dark13: Don't tell anybody if you don't want to. If you don't want visitors, then no visitors. No explanation is needed either. But I think you would like visitors afterwards. Just don't feel like you have to act a certain way with them or force yourself to be cheerful. There might be things that happen on surgery day you want to talk about.

Thursday will be here before you know it. Are you staying overnight in the hospital? Your mobility will be okay. You just have to take it slow. You have to lay down and get out of bed kind of rolling instead of just popping up like you're used to. I think the hospital will help you get up and out of bed. When I had my surgery, I had to tell them I wanted to get up and brush my teeth, wash my face, but I think they would have let me lay the whole time otherwise. I had an awful catheter so I didn't have to get up and go to the bathroom. That was honestly the worst part about the surgery. There wasn't hardly any pain at the actual surgery sites. The acute pain was in the back of my surgery side arm when I started getting up and walking around.

The transportation aide insisted I give my glasses to my sister but I had already talked with the nurse and they knew I would be wearing my glasses into the O.R. They even marked my glass case with my label earlier in the day. He was really a jerk about it and I almost gave in but I can't see anything without my glasses and I wanted to see the O.R. before they put me under. So don't let anyone boss you around in the hospital. If you feel like you need something, make sure you or whoever is with you gets it for you.

If you feel nauseous when you are in recovery, make sure to tell them. I did and they gave me Zofran plus a patch stuck to my neck behind my ear that was long-lasting, like three days. And if you are really hungry when you are in recover, they can get you something to eat or if you can't eat yet, they can get you ice chips.